Features Preview: La Route Du Rock 2013

It’s baffling that La Route du Rock is potentially heading into its 23rd event still as one of Europe’s best-kept secrets, especially with a line-up like this. Dotted about the seaside French town of Saint-Malo, the festival is most notorious each year for its pretty unfathomable roster, that’s limited to a couple of stages neatly positioned within Fort de Saint-Père. As if that wasn’t enough, by limiting the line-up to a certain number of artists, acts are able to perform headline-length sets each, creating quite the treat for the festivalite willing to do a bit of travelling.

Kicking off proceedings on Wednesday are Danish dirtbags Iceage, whose infamous performance of melancholia and teenage angst is sure to get bodies moving. Weirdly in contrast, Moon Duo and Local Natives each follow through respectively, cooling crowds down with a mix of whimsical electronica and perfectly polished indie rock before Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds take to the stage to inevitably showcase how a festival slot is perfected. For those feeling the need to have feet and arms truly flailing at this point, !!! and Fuck Buttons will be on hand way into the early hours to assure you get your dose of EDM-induced shenanigans.

There’s no need to rush the hangover on Thursday morning, Take a dip in Britanny’s Emerald Coast before heading over to the Scene Des Ramparts at 6:30 for an undoubtedly ramshackle and rapturous set from the young Jackson Scott. He’ll have you nice and warmed up for his current touring partners Woods, whose ethereal, folk-tinged garage rock was destined for shores like Saint-Malo. Godspeed You! Black Emperor will be inducing catharsis into everyone come the evening, before Bass Drum of Death open for Hudson Mohawke’s and Lunice’s TNGHT which is guaranteed to be astounding in the festival’s castle setting.

Saturday has even more to offer, with things starting up at half six once again. Widowspeak will be helping everyone get through their delirium with what will hopefully be a fairly tranquil set, before Parquet Courts shake everything up a bit with their snotty-nosed, juvenile garage punk. Once stoned and thus starving thanks to the Savage brothers, a psychedelic appearance from Tame Impala is sure to keep the party going. Suuns crunch their way through potentially the darkest set of the weekend, but Hot Chip and Disclosure will be on hand to, well, close things out. In style.